Police eject 'angry' commuter from Liverpool Street as flooded London stations stop people voting

A commuter was ejected from Liverpool Street station after a row with train staff as flash floods crippled transport networks at rush hour and prevented many people from voting.

Fellow passengers watched in astonishment as the man argued with rail employees when the cancellation of his service to Norwich was announced over speakers at 7.45pm last night.

He was surrounded by guards before being led from the station by four City of London police officers.

The drama came amid “apocalyptic” scenes at London’s main stations when storms swamped tracks, leading to the suspension of five Tube lines and the cancellation of dozens of trains.

In central London 1.8in of rain fell over 24 hours — equalling London’s monthly average for June.

Tens of thousands of people were caught up in the chaos at Waterloo, Britain’s busiest station, where the would-be travellers reported a “dangerous” crush on the concourse, leading to its temporary closure.

Rainwater “cascaded through the roof” of Victoria and services from Cannon Street were also hit. Almost all Tube lines suffered delays and several stations were shut, including Westminster.

London Fire Brigade attended 440 separate flood-related calls yesterday, rescuing more than 100 people from rising waters and helping to evacuate 60 homes in Romford — inundated when the Rom burst its banks.

Flashpoint: a commuter is spoken to by police after a row with rail staff at Liverpool Street station over the chaos caused to train services by referendum day flooding

IT consultant Suzanne Morris, 56, was among hundreds stuck on a train for three hours after a tree fell on to the line between Marylebone and Aylesbury, forcing it to reverse to Harrow.

“It’s so annoying — there’s a whole train full of people who can’t vote,” she said. “Everyone was getting really frustrated. I got a cab home in the vain hope I would make it but I was 30 minutes past the deadline.

“We had people on our train who were proxy voters for other people and some who had been campaigning really hard. Our whole train of missed votes adds up and there were plenty of other trains that were delayed as well.”

Mother-to-be Lidia Sandor, who is eight months pregnant, and her husband David were among those forced to leave their homes in Romford. The couple do not expect to return until after their baby is born.

Businesses were also devastated by flooding. A crowdfunding campaign was launched to fix £20,000 of water damage at West Ham jazz club Arch 1, which was submerged in 2ft of water.

The Met Office said: “There is respite for Londoners over the next few days, which will be mainly dry and sunny.”

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